People Who Shake Their Leg While Sitting Usually Have 11 Distinct Personality Traits
shurkin_son | Shutterstock Body language like fidgeting can sometimes be a physical manifestation of anxiety, but oftentimes, it’s actually a reminder of how stimulated a person is. Even if they’re not anxious, fidgeting may be a means for the subconscious to hone in attention and garner a person’s concentration on a specific thing, person, or topic.
People who shake their leg while sitting usually have distinct personality traits, including a tendency to daydream or to be easily overstimulated. Sometimes, the movement is simply a means of capturing the attention that’s in front of them, and other times, it’s a physical manifestation of the emotions and thoughts they’re running through in their minds.
People who shake their leg while sitting usually have 11 distinct personality traits
1. They’re deep thinkers
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Many intelligent people whose thoughts move faster than conversations or words allow have a tendency to shake their legs while sitting down or lingering in a stagnant position. According to a 2022 study, shaking legs improves their executive functioning, making it slightly easier to indulge in cognitive processes like understanding and concentration when there are millions of thoughts racing around through mind.
Even when they’re sitting in a classroom or having a conversation with a stranger, they’re always digging deeper into what’s being said and crafting their own opinions on a much deeper level. Of course, without the ability to entertain all of these added thoughts out loud, their bodies and minds need another avenue for coping and processing them.
2. They think one step ahead
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Future-forward thinkers, who often think one step ahead of what someone’s saying or the events that they’re living through in the moment, may shake their legs more often while sitting down.
For some people, this tendency is rooted in unresolved trauma or misguided coping skills. They’re always thinking about the next thing or worrying about the worst-case scenarios, trying to prepare themselves.
However, it can sometimes be a superpower for people who use this thinking pattern to plan for the future in healthy ways and make sure that they’re prepared, rather than procrastinating all the events and needs coming up at work or home.
3. They’re anxious
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While anxiety is sometimes tied to our personality traits and often embedded in our everyday habits, our body language and physical cues can sometimes manifest anxious thoughts and worries in unsuspecting ways. Of course, mental stress and anxiety often influence physical behaviors and well-being, but sometimes, anxious people use small physical movements as a way to cope with and release cognitive worry, rather than hold onto it.
People who shake their leg while sitting usually have these distinct personality traits. They’re innate worriers and often carry a lot of anxiety about work, family, relationships, and self in their minds at all times, even when they don’t realize it.
4. They’re daydreamers
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People who shake their leg while sitting usually have distinct personality traits, like a tendency to daydream. They’re running through fake scenarios in their mind and making assumptions about the future, and, of course, their bodies need some way of fueling and concentrating on the mental images.
While daydreaming is often a harmless way to boost creativity and shift mood to a more positive baseline, it’s also possible that a person’s tendency to drift and daydream is their way of avoiding uncomfortable emotions and suppressed feelings, at least according to a study from the European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation.
So, if you find yourself shaking your leg and daydreaming while looking out the window often, chances are it’s ingrained in your cognitive mind and personality. Just be careful about when these tendencies pop up, and if you’re using them subconsciously as a means to escape negativity or important emotions.
5. They’re natural caregivers
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People who take on caregiving opportunities are often at risk for developing burnout and exhaustion from taking on these burdens. However, sometimes, people have a natural personality trait that encourages them to adopt the role of “caregiver” in all of their relationships.
Essentially, they feel a pressure to put their own needs on hold and show up for other people. Not only does this create a lot of pressure in the relationships that should be a source of joy and relief, but it also often manifests as more stress and anxiety in a person’s mind.
Of course, these people are more likely to shake their legs when they’re sitting still, because they’re so used to going a million miles a minute for everyone else that they need a movement to cope with the stillness.
6. They’re overthinkers
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If someone’s prone to overthinking in their everyday lives, there’s a chance that bouncing their legs while sitting down is a common physical manifestation of their anxiety and stress.
Sometimes, people dealing with overthinking tendencies and anxious thoughts rely on distractions to find solace and peace. Whether it’s overscheduling their social calendar or working a million hours a week, their stress is both a symptom of being overworked and a misguided coping mechanism for avoiding other complex emotions.
As neuropsychology researcher Patrick Porter explains, bouncing and shaking their legs is simply a means of physical release, where there’s too much pent-up tension and stress lingering in the body.
7. They’re ambitious
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Ambitious people, always thinking about the next thing and striving toward big goals in their everyday lives, may struggle to slow down and make time for things they deem “less important.” Whether it’s chores, work meetings, or alone time, they’re always grappling with the need to “do more” and make progress.
They have goal-focused minds, which often makes concentration and focus on the mundane parts of life that much harder, which is why they often shake their legs. It’s a physical release of all the anxiety and movement happening in their minds, even if they don’t even realize it’s happening.
8. They struggle to rest
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Many people who feel guilty resting at home or struggle with the quietness of alone time when they crawl into their beds are holding onto a lot of anxiety and worry. Whether it’s a struggle with reflecting on their suppressed emotions, feeling pressure from obligations in their lives, or simply coping with mental health concerns, they struggle to be still.
Their minds are moving quickly, which is why busyness and distraction are so alluring. However, coming home to an empty house or sitting in a quiet room can bring up all their overwhelming thoughts and worries. Moving their bodies and shaking their legs while sitting can act as a physical release for all that tension, even if it’s happening entirely unconsciously.
9. They’re multitaskers
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While experts suggest that multitasking isn’t always helpful for productivity, many people with concentration or attention issues need constant stimulation. Their brains are yearning for a sense of busyness that multitasking often allows, even if it comes at the expense of productivity and efficiency.
People who shake their leg while sitting may have these distinct personality traits, and moving their physical bodies is a means of multitasking in their own way. Whether they’re listening to someone speak in a work meeting or sitting in a lecture hall, they need this “multitasking” of physical and cognitive movement to stimulate their brains.
10. They’re high energy
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People who shake their leg while sitting usually have distinct personality traits like being high-energy. Whether it’s an attention disorder or a baseline level of extraverted, intentional energy, they need some kind of physical movement to release the energy they’re cultivating inside.
Luckily, as a study in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research explains, people who report higher energy levels are often more likely to have better physical and mental health. It’s this high-energy baseline that may urge their bodies to fidget and move for a sense of groundedness, but it also feeds into their overall well-being in life.
11. They’re reactive or impulsive
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Emotionally reactive people are prone to shoving their emotions inside. They suppress them or avoid them for a sense of instant peace, even if they’ll eventually come flooding out in random ways, like a harmless movement of their leg while sitting down or a more consequential emotional outburst in a conversation.
Their bodies and the decision-making parts of their minds move faster than their reasoning and understanding do. So, of course, their anxiety is finding random movement for physical release, before their minds have a chance to realize they’re moving. They may also make decisions or speak without taking a second to pause and reflect.
Of course, everyone is different. Just because someone shakes their leg doesn’t mean they’re an emotionally reactive person. But with anxiety and internal stress influencing their movements, it’s not a stretch to assume they also affect decision-making and other cognitive processes.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
